FC Dallas sign three youth to pro contracts
Published 7/30/2010 6:12:08 PM by staff from dallas
FC Dallas has signed three players from their youth academy to professional contracts. Technical Director Barry Gorman announced Friday the signings of Ruben Luna, Moises Hernandez and Victor Ulloa were contracted under the MLS homegrown player initiative.
“Graduating players from our development academy on to the professional team is our ultimate goal within the program,” Gorman said. “That we've been able to do exactly that with four players already is a testament to both the quality of the players in our program and the hard work of our academy coaches.”
The three players will travel to Colorado with the first team this weekend to take part in a reserve game after FC Dallas’ match with the Colorado Rapids Saturday evening. All three players were recently honored by the US Soccer Development Academy during Finals Week.
“Today marks a momentous achievement for our organization,” Vice President of Hunt Sports Group Dan Hunt said. “One of our principle initiatives at FC Dallas is to identify and develop home grown players and to graduate those players from our academy onto our professional roster. To now have four players come through our youth development system symbolizes more than the culmination of their individual hard work and determination. It is a testament to the fulfillment of the goals of this organization, and the success of the development system we are building.”
Playing alongside Hernandez and Ulloa, Ruben Luna scored a team high 26 goals in 29 appearances for the U18 FC Dallas Juniors this season. The team won the Central Conference with a record of 11-2-3.
A defender, Hernandez started a team high 30 matches for the Juniors. Coming forward from his defensive position, he also scored two goals. Ulloa started 29 of 31 games in the midfield. He scored two goals during the regular season.
The FCD Juniors captain, Victor Ulloa also scored during the group stage of USSDA Finals Week. His goal came in the team’s second match of the season-ending tournament against the Derby County Wolves. The match finished 1-1.
Heading into their third game, FCD Juniors were poised to finish first in their group before falling, 3-2 to CASL Chelsea FC Academy on a stoppage-time goal. The loss pushed the team to third place in their group. Luna converted a penalty kick goal in 61st minute of that match.
Label: Ruben Luna, Moises Hernandez, Victor Ulloa
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